I’ve enjoyed my past engagements with Leinenkugel’s, and I happily accepted its invitation to try its Lakeside Cherry, Grapefruit Shandy and North Brandy Old Fashioned (yes, you read that correctly).
Lakeside Cherry
Here’s an interesting bit of history. Apparently, the brewery was not equipped physically or financially to make beer again once prohibition ended. However, Rose Leinenkugel, daughter of Founder Jacob Leinenkugel, mortgaged her family home to save the business.
Lakeside Cherry (4.4% ABV) is a flavorful take on a classic German Gose-style beer. It’s made with real cherry juice, which creates a rose-colored liquid to honor Rose.
I was worried it was going to be too tart, especially because Gose beers have this distinction, but that was not the case at all. You can certainly taste the cherry flavor, and overall I found Lakeside Cherry to be crisp and easy to drink year-round, and indeed, it is available all year.
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Grapefruit Shandy
This month marks the return of Grapefruit Shandy (4.2% ABV), which was retired in 2019. It’s a weiss beer combined with natural white grapefruit flavor.
I have to say I was very impressed with the beer–in fact, I liked it even more than Summer Shandy, and that’s saying a lot. Grapefruit Shandy has the perfect amount of grapefruit flavor without making the beverage too sour. In some ways, it reminded me of a Greyhound, my favorite cocktail at brunch.
Grapefruit Shandy is available now through September.
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North Brandy Old Fashioned
Leinenkugel’s and Central Standard Craft Distillery have partnered to create a ready-to-drink cocktail: North Brandy Old Fashioned (8% ABV). It combines Central Standard’s North Wisconsin Brandy with cherry, cranberry and orange flavors from Leinenkugel’s beers.
I thought it was daring to take Wisconsin’s iconic cocktail and put it into a can, but Leinenkugel’s and Central Standard knocked it out of the park. I’ve had other canned cocktails that weren’t even close to their namesake, but the North Brandy Old Fashioned had all of the requisite flavors, including bitters, that you would come to expect.
I choose press for my Old Fashioneds, and I would say the sweetness level of North Brandy Old Fashioned is between a press version and a sweet version. Of note, the North Wisconsin Brandy is aged 2+ years in fire-kissed oak barrels, then finished in bourbon barrels that make it sweet and smooth.
In Madison, you can purchase North Brandy Old Fashioned at Festival Foods, Star Liquor, Steve’s Liquor and Metcalfe’s, among other stores and bars.
Photos courtesy of Leinenkugel’s
Tags: beer
